Imagine a place where absolutely everything you need for a relaxing and fun vacation is all in one place. Where you feel like you have all the comforts of home with the added benefit of endless activities for both adults and children. If you imagined a place like this, it would be Holiday in Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort in Orlando. Full of great food, luxurious accommodations and a fully packed schedule of activities, this resort is one stop vacation destination that you never even have to leave in order to have a great time!

{Holiday Inn Club Vacations Brand at Orange Lake Resort}

If you remember, I visited the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Resort in Gatlinburg last Spring Break with the boys. My experience with the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand was so welcoming and positive that when I was searching for where to stay this year, another one of their nine other locations was a must.

In 1982, Kemmons Wilson expanded his then popular Holiday Inn brand to include Orange Lake Resort, which became the first resort in the Holiday Inn Club Vacations line. Each of these now 10 locations provides families with first rate service, accommodations and unbelievable sources of entertainment. With over 1.450 acres and planted firmly in the heart of the theme park capital of Florida, Orange Lake Resort features 2,478 villas ranging from studios to four bedroom luxury villas, 4 golf courses, 7 pools and 9 dining options. There is also a weekly activities schedule packed full of fun, making this resort a true one stop shop for vacationing.

{Our Room}

Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort is divided into four villages that are all connected and accessible by car or the resort's free on-site shuttle. The villages include the North, East, West and River Island villages. Check in was in the West Village and we headed in the car down the villa lined street to the River Island village where our two bedroom villa was located. Along the way we passed ponds where vacationers were fishing, golf carts zooming on their way to one of the two professional golf courses and endless runners/walkers who were out for a stroll.

Our room was on the second floor of the River Island building and it was gorgeous. From the moment I walked through the door, I knew this was going to be the perfect place to spend out vacation. I wanted a more relaxing vacation experience this time, which meant more time at the resort and Orange Lake Resort did not disappoint. It had all the luxuries of home, like a full stocked kitchen and washer and dryer, as well as comfortable bedding, a huge tub with jets and plenty of room for our family. Check out the slideshow above for a complete walk through of our two bedroom two bath villa.

{Amenities}

It would take forever for me to describe all the amenities and activities this resort has to offer, but let's see if I can quickly sum most of them up for you. First, when you arrive, you receive a copy of the Vacation News, a newsletter that lists a full activities schedule, and I do mean full. From 7:15 AM to 9:00 at night, there are an abundance of fun family activities to keep you busy. From nature walks, to scavenger hunts, pool games, arcade basketball tournaments and more, you can easily plan a whole day of fun for free without the added cost of leaving the resort.

There are 7 pools in the resort, including the 1,200 foot lazy river, wading pools for kids and full size water slides. At River Island where we were, we took plenty of opportunities to enjoy the lazy river. You can purchase a Play Pass that allows you to have unlimited access to tube rentals, mini golf games and rides on the Hippo, the longest inflatable water slide in the world! The cabana rentals at both the West village and River Island pools are a spectacular way to relax, and feature a mini fridge stocked with fresh fruit and water, snacks, seating for six, a fan, snacks, TV and wifi internet service. This was our first time using a cabana rental and they are definitely worth the cost.

Swampy's Club is a fully stocked and staffed activities center that is packed with crafts for the kids, games, toys and even free video game systems. Parents can stop by daily until 9:30 PM to rent board games or just have a blast playing together. There is also a Kid's Camp on Wednesday mornings and a Kids' Night Out on Thursday evenings where parents can arrange some alone time for a small fee. We checked our Clue from their list of board games one night and had hours of fun playing in our room! The boy begged to go back here every day and unfortunately, we had so much fun in the rest of the resort that we didn't get to spend as much time here as we would have liked.

Have older kids? Don't worry, there are plenty of activities for teens as well. Aside from the two mini golf courses, there are planned teen activities like teen tubing throughout the week as well as three large arcades on property. The free wifi in the hotel rooms ensure you or your teens will be able to stay connected at all times. Adults can find plenty to do as well, with karaoke, sports bars, adult Bingo and more.

Perhaps the funnest part of our trip though, was when we attended the Comedy Dinner Show at the resort. This show takes place on Wednesday evenings and features a delicious dinner buffet followed by a laugh-out-loud comedy/magic show put on by Eric Olson. He had every laughing hysterically the whole time and the best part was, it was appropriate for the whole family. The boys loved it!

There are 9 dining options on the resort property, from take-out pizza to more formal sit down options like the River Island Grilling Company. The best news? They almost all deliver. No inflated room service charges here either, just a $25 minimum order and $3 delivery fee. We ordered in our first night from Breezes Restaurant and the food was delicious!

So, ample dining options, a full list of daily planned activities for all ages, shops, two fitness centers, arcades, mini golf, two professional golf courses, water slides, a lazy river and a fully stocked free kids activity room. What more could you ask for? You can easily spend an entire stay just within the Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort property and have and amazing family vacation. We certainly enjoyed it!

{Room Costs and Booking}

Room rates vary greatly depending on the size of the room/villa you are looking for and the time of year you choose to visit, but there are 2 bedroom villa rates at the beginning of May for example, that start at only $119 per night. That is an amazing value for a two bedroom villa considering everything else this resort has to offer. Check out the Holiday Inn Club Vacations site and book your reservation today!

Have you ever stayed at a Holiday Inn Club Vacations Resort? How did you like it?

I was given complimentary accommodations at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort for the purpose of review, but all words thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Kathleen is a homeschooling mom of four boys with a serious case of the Wanderlust bug. Her love of travel extends to her children, and has resulted in the family visiting 48 states to date, and traveling nearly a third of the year. She is the owner of LifeWith4Boys.com where you will find information on Family Travel, recipes, reviews, lifestyle and more.

I am an owner at Orange lake and can say that I love this place. My family vacations there every year and we live in Florida. We have checked out a couple other properties like the one in Lake Geneva, WI and one in Brownsville, VT. All of the resorts are just as nice. But by far Orange Lake is our favorite. There is so much to do inside the resort and the theme parks like Disney and Universal are just minutes away. We are heading back in July and can't wait to get there.

Basically, the "cashless resort" means that they will not accept cash for anything purchased on property. This can include within the shops, restaurants, activity rentals, etc. You can use a credit card or even your room key that has a card attached to it for charging instead. It makes things a lot more convenient in my opinion.